Chapter 185
“Rest well. I’ll go wake the others.” Oliver’s voice carried a gentle assurance as he moved to rouse his companions.
He then woke up Daniel, who started coughing violently. The sound was jarring, breaking the calm that had settled momentarily.
“What the fuck! Don’t spit on me!”
Oliver quickly stepped back as Daniel spat everywhere.
“O-Oliver, dude!? What happened!? Where is that poison bastard?” Daniel asked angrily as he stood up.
His eyes darted around, still half-caught in the nightmare they’d just escaped.
“He’s been exorcised. Teacher Alison has arrived and will handle the rest,” Oliver calmly briefed the agitated Daniel before turning his attention to Amber.
Bella had already woken up Nadia and Evelyn, leaving only Amber.
Each of them bore the marks of their ordeal, but relief washed over their faces as they regained consciousness.
“Sister, you must listen to me. They were really powerful!” Evelyn chattered non-stop now that she was reunited with her sister. Bella listened attentively, gathering details to report back to the clan.
Her sister’s words tumbled out, a mixture of fear and excitement.
Oliver slid open the vial and began to slowly pour the potion into Amber’s mouth as she began to stir awake.
“Hey, Amber…” Oliver’s voice was soft, coaxing her back to the waking world.
Slap!
Suddenly, the group froze as the sound of a slap echoed through the surroundings. They all turned toward the source of the sound to see Amber looking hatefully at a guy facing away with a red handprint on his cheek.
“Don’t talk to me, you scum!” Amber yelled in anger, her eyes filled with hatred.
The words cut through the air, sharp and unforgiving.
The air thickened with tension.
“…”
He touched his cheek where the slap had landed but felt nothing. His hand lingered, as if trying to understand the sting that wasn’t there.
With his toughened body, all he felt was a small itch from the earlier impact.
The physical pain was absent, but the sting of her words remained.
Oliver was momentarily stunned before realizing the reason for her outburst. It seemed she genuinely believed it was him.
“If you’re angry over that then—”
Before Oliver could explain further, Amber stood up and looked down at him, repeating, “I. Said. Don’t. Talk. To. Me.”
With that, she left the scene, refusing to explain or listen to anyone.
“Amber, wait!” Alphonso quickly hurried after her, nodding once at the others.
His steps were quick, propelled by a need to mend the rift that had formed.
Oliver pressed his hand to his forehead, wondering how to handle this situation.
“She…” Nadia narrowed her eyes at Amber’s earlier display and was about to go teach her a lesson for disrespecting her clan.
Her temper flared, a spark ready to ignite into a blaze.
She was confident Oliver had saved Amber from the heretics, and Amber had the nerve to be so ungrateful.
“Nadia, wait. Don’t be impulsive!” Evelyn quickly got in her way, explaining how her hasty actions might cause a rift between the two major clans.
Her words were a plea for reason, a shield against escalating tensions.
“Either she apologizes, or I throw her to the demons,” Nadia stated simply yet coldly, troubling Evelyn.
Bella sighed as she approached Oliver. Patting his shoulder, she said, “Stand up. Let’s talk to Teacher Alison.”
Oliver also sighed deeply as he stood and followed her out, knowing Amber wasn’t interested in listening to him. Resignation settled over him, a silent acceptance of the path ahead.
It was better to leave her alone for now; he didn’t have the energy to deal with her tantrums.
Looking back, he felt that working solo was the right approach for him.
Later, they saw Alison with Sigfor, whose clothes were bloodied and riddled with holes.
It looked like Sigfor had also suffered while the heretics attacked them.
Sigfor saw them and quickly rushed over to apologize, and soon the matter was resolved. It was decided that everyone would be sent back to the clan, and the training would end early.
No one objected, and soon their escorts arrived to transport them back to the clan.
Regardless, Oliver still felt it was worth it; he was better at using the water element and his weapon skills had improved.
In the end, he exchanged pleasantries with the others before leaving. There was not much talk between him and Amber, even then.
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Back at the clan, he finally returned to his courtyard after almost a year.
“Zippy!”
He called out as he saw a fat white cat running toward him.
The sight brought a rare smile to his face, a reminder of simpler times.
“….”
Oliver looked down, astonished. The cat had become much fatter than before.
“This… how did you get so fat?” He turned to his personal maid as if to ask her the question.
“Sesha, what have you been feeding her?” he questioned.
“Meat, young master,” she replied in a light tone.
“Huh? That’s it? What about exercise?”
“That…” Sesha’s expression turned complicated, “Young master, Zippy doesn’t like it.”
“What?” Oliver had a bewildered expression on his face.
“You…” He looked down at the fat cat rolling at his feet lazily and picked it up with some effort.
“Meow…” The cat’s soft protest was half-hearted, as if resigned to its fate.
“Do you want to eat meat?” he asked.
“Meow!” the cat eagerly nodded.
Zippy nodded but suddenly paused. A glimmer of suspicion flickered in her eyes.
Wait a moment! Something doesn’t seem right…
Despite being away from Oliver for almost a year, she still knew him better than others.
When he asked in such a sweet tone that sounded too good to be true, it was usually a trap!
Zippy suddenly became alert and vigorously shook her head.
“Oh? You don’t want meat? How can that be?”
Oliver smiled darkly as the cat attempted to escape, but his grip was too strong.
“From now on, you will be on a strict diet. You will also exercise daily to get back into a shape that resembles a cat instead of a potato.”
His words were firm, a decree of tough love. Like a thunderbolt, his words struck the cat deeply.
Zippy sweated upon hearing his words, not daring to imagine life without meat.
But looking at Oliver’s stern expression, she knew there was no scope to argue or emotionally blackmail him.
“Sesha, take this fat log for some exercise.”
Oliver quickly found an excuse to save himself from Sesha’s scrutiny and told her to take the clan guardian away.
“I’ll do as you say, young master.” Sesha nodded and carried the despairing fat cat away.
“Now then… it’s been a long time since I met Jenna. I should go see her. It’s about time I paid some attention to the matters of the organization I joined long ago.”